Harry Potter’s J.K. Rowling Cries Over “The Casual Vacancy”

JK Rowling, author of the insanely popular Harry Potter series, recently had one of her other novels adapted for the small screen. The televised version of The Casual Vacancy was split into three parts, and Rowling watched, and cried, over the end.

The Casual Vacancy, released in 2012, features the citizens of a small English village, Pagford, following a sudden death of the cities council members. The book depicts Pagford as a city in turmoil, with everything from destructive marriages and relationships to political corruption. It is Rowling’s first adult novel after the world-wise success of Harry Potter.

The book itself received mixed reviews, which is expected, considering she had set the bar so high for herself. However, those who were fans of the book were surprised- and a bit irritated- that the ending was altered. According to the BBC (the television network that broadcast the three part adaption), they edited the original ending in order to make the film less grim and dark.

Rowling herself admitted that she cried after the final part had finished airing on Saturday. Rowling had sent out a tweet at Sarah Phelps, the screenwriter for the TV miniseries. The tweet read: “Well, that’s me crying my eyes out, so job done. Serves me right, some might say. Thank you, thank you”

She didn’t clarify if the adaption of her book itself made her cry, or just the fact that one of her works was brought to life however. If it is because of the material of the show, she might not have a lot of sympathizers. Many fans were upset that the original content was edited, and let everyone know through twitter.

Rowling also has yet to comment on the reason behind the changes, which were approved by her. But she must have known what she was doing right? I guess we’ll have to wait until The Causal Vacancy premiers on HBO for us to judge. The show will make its US debut on April 29th.